From the National Basketball Association to college sports, drastic measures have been taken in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
MARCH MADNESS, NCAA SPORTS CANCELED
The NCAA has canceled the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments because of the spread of coronavirus. The decision came one day after the NCAA announced games that were scheduled to start next week would be played in mostly empty arenas.
That plan was scrapped as every major American sports league, beginning with the NBA, put the brakes on their seasons due to concerns about the pandemic.
The NCAA also canceled all of its championships in every winter and spring sport, including hockey, baseball, lacrosse and several others.
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament has been played every year since 1939 when Oregon won the championship in Evanston, Illinois. It has grown through the years, both in size and stature. The three-week tournament generates almost a billion dollars in revenue each year for the NCAA and its hundreds of member universities and colleges.
It is now one of the biggest events in American sports, a basketball marathon of buzzer-beaters, upset and thrills involving 68 teams. The field for the men’s tournament was scheduled to be announced Sunday. The 64-team women’s field was to be revealed Monday.
Games would have started on the men’s side on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio, then spreading out to eight sites from coast-to-coast from next Thursday through Sunday.
Read more about the NCAA’s actions here.
BASEBALL SEASON TO BE DELAYED
Major League Baseball delayed the start of its season by at least two weeks because of the coronavirus outbreak and suspended the rest of its spring training game schedule.
Opening day had been scheduled for March 26. The decision announced by Commissioner Rob Manfred on Thursday left open whether each team would still play a 162-game schedule.
“It’s unfortunate but I think it’s the proper measure we need to take now given the situation the country’s in and the world’s in,” New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton said. “It’s important to know that some things are bigger than baseball, bigger than sports at the moment. Once we’re able to hopefully get a hold on some things and get some questions answered we can figure out when things can continue.”
The announcement came while some spring training games in Florida were still in progress. MLB followed the NBA, NHL, MLS and college basketball tournaments in altering its schedule because of the pandemic. The minor league baseball season, which was to start April 9, also was being delayed.
MLB had continued to play into Thursday, two weeks before openers at Dodger Stadium, Camden Yards and other parks. But baseball changed course after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a morning news conference he had strongly recommended to local authorities and organizers that they limit all mass gatherings.
Read more on MLB postponement of its season here.
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE SEASON ON HOLD
The NHL is following the NBA’s lead and suspending its season.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the pause of the season amid concerns about the new coronavirus. The NBA announced Wednesday night it was suspending play, after a player tested positive for COVID-19.
Several NBA and NHL teams share arenas.
The NHL has not said any player has tested positive for COVID-19. The league is halting play with 189 games left in the regular season, sparking uncertainty about how many more, if any, could be played before the playoffs.
Bettman said the NHL has tried to follow mandates of health experts and local authorities without taking premature or unnecessary measures.” Bettman’s statement said the NBA’s news made it “no longer appropriate to try to continue to play games at this time.”
Read more on the NHL plans to pause its season here.
NASCAR TO RACE WITHOUT FANS
NASCAR will race the next two weekends without fans.
The events at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway will be restricted to competitors, crews, officials and other necessary personnel to conduct the race.
NASCAR is working with public health officials to determine future scheduling beyond those events.
PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF DONE AFTER ONE ROUND
The PGA Tour decided Thursday night to scrap the rest of The Players Championship and shut down its other tournaments for the next three weeks.
Commissioner Jay Monahan had said earlier in the day there would be no fans at the TPC Sawgrass for the final three rounds, or at the next three tournaments on the PGA Tour schedule.
The tour changed its mind late Thursday.
“We did everything possible to create a safe environment for our players in order to continue the event through the weekend,” the tour said in a statement. “But at his point – and as the situation continues to rapidly change – the right thing to do for our players and our fans is to pause.”
There was no immediately word whether The Players Championship would be rescheduled.
The Players Championship is the premier tournament run by the PGA Tour, offering a $15 million purse, the richest in golf history. It was to be followed by the Valspar Championship in the Tampa Bay area, the Dell Match Play in Austin, Texas, and the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.
Hideki Matsuyama finished with a 25-foot eagle putt to tie the course record, taking a two-shot lead after the first round at Ponte Vedra, Florida.
Matsuyama has a two-shot lead over Harris English, former winner Si Woo Kim and Christiian Bezuidenhout of South Africa.
LPGA: The LPGA Tour postponed golf’s first major championship of the season and two other events because of the coronavirus.
The tour called off the Volvik Founders Cup in Phoenix on March 19-22, the Kia Classic in Carlsbad, California, on March 26-29 and the major ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage, California, on April 2-5.
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER SHUTS DOWN
Major League Soccer is shutting down because of the coronavirus, according to Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas.
Mas says the target period for the hiatus is 30 days.
He told players and coaches, then held a news conference and says, “We’ve made a decision as a league this morning, as owners, that play will be suspended temporarily.”
The expansion team owned by Mas and former England captain David Beckham had been scheduled to play its home opener Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
AUTO RACING
Formula One organizers canceled the season-opening Australian Grand Prix hours ahead of the first official practice sessions because of concern over the spreading coronavirus.
The sport’s governing body, FIA, issued a joint statement with F1 and the Australian Grand Prix to confirm the cancellation of the race. It followed McLaren’s decision to withdraw after one of its team members tested positive for the virus.
The statement says discussions between F1 and the other nine team principals “concluded with a majority view of the teams that the race should not go ahead.”
There had been two practice sessions scheduled Friday, with qualifying Saturday for Sunday’s GP. No fans had been allowed into the Albert Park circuit on Friday morning.
SOCCER
Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta has tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing the club to close its training complex and put the entire first-team in self isolation.
Arsenal was due to play at Brighton on Saturday, with the Premier League pushing ahead with a full fixture list and stadiums with fans – unlike most other major sports.
However, Arsenal said “it is clear we will not be able to play some fixtures on their currently scheduled dates.”
The club issued a statement quoting Arteta as saying: “This is really disappointing but I took the test after feeling poorly. I will be at work as soon as I’m allowed.”
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